Highway 14. Though the transportation bill provides more Corridors of Commerce funding, it also requires state officials to rank Corridors of Commerce proposals similarly to the way the Minnesota Department of Transportation ranks its list of road projects.That could mean projects such as the Nicollet to New Ulm stretch of Highway 14 won't get funding, while roads in the metro area could be eligible for extra money.

Area lawmakers say the new regulations violate Corridors of Commerce's intent, to connect regional economic centers throughout the state. GOP leaders say they'll study the language's effects during the 2018 legislative session.

After watching the Republicans stoke the placebaiting game, we're surprised to see them leave a hole the DFL caucus could drive a semi through.

A Mankato member of the Highway 14 Partnership explains the need to finish the Highway 14 project here.

Chart: A graphic illustration of the situation.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 313 Park Street, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the paypal subscription button.

Individuals are required to file an FD Statement once they “qualify” as a candidate by raising or spending more than $5,000 in a campaign for election to the House of Representatives. If you receive a notice to file a Statement before you have raised or spent more than $5,000 on the campaign, you should notify the Clerk of the House in writing or through the electronic filing system that the campaign has not yet crossed the $5,000 threshold. You may use the form included as Appendix E in these instructions to make the notification to the Clerk. See “Where to File” for the mailing address for the Clerk.

Funds loaned to a campaign from any source, including from the candidate, as well as funds expended for state filing fees, count toward the $5,000 threshold. However, only funds raised or spent in the election cycle in which you are a candidate ( i.e ., the two-year period consisting of the calendar year of the election and the prior calendar year) are considered to determine whether you have qualified as a candidate. For example, if you are running as a candidate for the House in an election to be held on November 6, 2018, only funds raised or spent in the current election cycle (2017 and 2018) count toward the $5,000 threshold. Any campaign funds carried over from the prior election cycle in which you were a candidate do not count toward the $5,000 threshold.

Candidates who never exceed the $5,000 threshold are not required to file an FD Statement.

Qualifying candidates are required to file no more than one candidate FD Statement for any calendar year in which they qualify as a candidate.

Filing Deadlines for Candidates: The deadline for filing the FD Statement depends on whether you qualify as a candidate in an election or non-election year. . . .

If you qualify during a non-election (odd- numbered) year, then you must file an FD Statement within 30 days of becoming a candidate or May 15 of that year, whichever is later. You are then required to file a second Statement on May 15 of the following year if you are still a candidate on that date. If you lose a primary election or formally withdraw, as explained below, before May 15, 2018, then you are not required to file the second Statement.

This apparently lackluster fundraising may actually not be a bad thing. Back in 2000, when Minnesota's Fourth District Congresswoman Betty McCollum and former state senator Steve Novak, then the powerful Jobs and Energy committee chair, vied for the DFL endorsement to replace a retiring (and dying) Bruce Vento, Novak was scolded by Common Cause for fundraising for the federal race while the legislature was in session. While not illegal (since the state campaign finance board can only regulate state campaigns), the clean politics group believed the practice to be unethical.

Her interest in campaign finance reform has had personal consequences. She declined to accept any PAC or lobbying money during the legislative session, and had raised just over $5,000 at the end of March, the least of any fourth-district candidate. McCollum says that has to change soon. "After the end of the session, my fundraising strategy will change. I made a commitment to not take PAC or lobbyist money during session, but the groups that endorsed me, I will after session look forward to sitting down and putting together an aggressive financial plan." . . .

For his part, fifth-term State Senator Steve Novak maintains he's the most-electable candidate against a Republican, with or without the DFL party behind him. He points to the fact that he's raised about $130,000 so far and to his endorsements from the Teamsters and building trades. . . .

We're not close enough to Miller, vice-chair of the Minnesota House Agriculture Finance Committee, to know if ethical constraints are causing him to refrain from legal fundraising. After all, Peterson's only committee assignment is on the House Agriculture Committee, where he is the ranking member for the Democrats, and so perhaps agriculture PACs and their allies are loathe to switch horses as the new Farm Bill negotiations get underway.

President Donald J. Trump on May 23 proposed a fiscal year 2018 budget for the U.S. Department of Agriculture at $137 billion (budget authority), down $12 billion, or 8%, from an estimated $149 billion in F.Y. 2017, and outlined budget aims over the next 10 years that would sharply reduce expenditures and even eliminate a number of long-standing programs.

Leaders of the congressional agriculture committees pushed back against several of the more draconian proposals, which were roundly panned by farm and nutrition organizations. . . .

. . .Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, said the administration’s 2018 spending blueprint fails to recognize agriculture’s current financial challenges or its historical contribution to deficit reduction.

Trump’s spending blueprint also sets a clash with the next federal farm bill, due for renewal in 2018. It would cut $231 billion in all from farm programs over the next decade — in addition to the food stamp cuts, it would cut federal crop insurance by more than one-third.

The proposal “should be of concern to all rural Americans,” said Minnesota U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson, the ranking Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee. That will make him a key figure in the looming debate; Peterson has been a vigorous defender of crop insurance as a vital safety net for farmers.

“Going down this path all but guarantees there will be no new farm bill,” Peterson said.

Miller's current state Economic Interest Statement (EIS) is found here at the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure site. The reporting requirements are not the same as for the federal office, so this document is not entirely predictive of what the federal filing will contain. The employer listed on the January 2017 document closed in July 2016, according to the West Central Tribune.

Photo: Probably our favorite Tim Miller photo, via Facebook in 2014.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the paypal subscription button.

May 24, 2017

Leave it to state representative Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa, to dig up one of the mustiest of climate denier claims to proclaim on the floor of the Minnesota House. We fear his opposition to Zombie Ziprail is but one of those stopped-clock-right-twice a day thingies.

On Thursday, during the debate over Northfield DFLer David Bly's amendment to the LCCMR bill, Draz dragged out the one about "in the 1970s, scientists talked about global cooling." The Atlantic dispatched this one in 2009 in The Global Cooling Canard:

There needs to be some sort of Godwin's Law variant for conservatives who try to argue against global warming because they remember that Newsweek dipped into pop-science in the mid-70s and touted "global cooling." Call it Will's Law, after George Will, the supposedly cerebral conservative who brings this up every time he doesn't have a better column idea....comparing apples to apples, the scientific community didn't believe in global cooling and does believe in global warming. Sadly, our political pundits have outsourced their scientific research to an intern charged with a superficial skim of Newsweek covers.

Apparently, Draz missed that one. This left him open to the patient mercies of Rick Hansen, DFL-S. St. Paul:

Rep. Rick Hansen (DFL-South St. Paul) said appropriations from the environment trust fund “always seem to get tinkered with” and that projects involving solar power, climate change or prohibitions on lead, “always come out of the package” when Republicans have the majority. He asked fellow lawmakers to vote against the bill so sponsors could “start over.”

It's almost as if the Republicans have a blacklist on topics that can't be explored except through tired rhetoric. Since Hansen notes that Draz and Jim Newberger, R-Becker, each have a sense of wonder, Bluestem suspects that special interests are speaking here.

Photo: Screengrab from the clip. Hat tip to our reader who sent us the unlisted DFL House clip.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the paypal subscription button.

Minnesota lawmakers rested while they could Tuesday morning as the Legislature braced for a marathon special session to finish their work for the year.

DFL Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican leaders in the state House and Senate cut a budget deal around 11 p.m. Monday night. With only an hour remaining until the midnight deadline for adjournment, Dayton and the leaders agreed on an immediate, brief special session to sew up the $46 billion, two-year state budget.

It’s been all quiet at the Capitol since then. The House and Senate plan to reconvene at 3 p.m., with plans to work through the night in hopes of adjourning the special session at 7 a.m. Wednesday.

It’s not yet clear if that will be possible. By Tuesday afternoon, new budget bills that incorporate compromises between Dayton and Republican leaders on tens of billions of dollars in spending on schools, health and human services programs, transportation, public works construction projects and tax cuts were still under wraps. . . .

We're told now at HTV1 that the reconvening at the call of the chair may happen at 6:00 p.m., moving the discussion closer to the dark of night. Meanwhile, Representative Rick Hansen, DFL-S. St. Paul, has a practical suggestion for frustrated citizens fed up with the conventional wisdom that we don't give a rip about the process:

Show up at your MN Capitol tonight Bring a 🔦, flash light feature, or head lamp. Find out 💡what is going on in the dark of night. 🕯#mnleg

Were we not hours away, near the South Dakota border, we'd probably do just that. Readers who are closer might consider grabbing a flashlight and heading over to shine a little light on the proceedings. It's our government and it looks like those folks in St. Paul need a lot of help.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the paypal subscription button.

May 20, 2017

We've noticed that some on our favorite rural Minnesota anti-Muslim activists are sharing a post on Facebook by anti-Muslim author Pam Geller. Here's a screengrab of her post:

There's only one Muslim currently serving in the Minnesota legislature, and that would be Ilhan Omar. Since the Minnesota House voted on HF2621, we can see who voted yes for the bill, introduced by state representative Mary Franson, R-Alexandria. Here's a screengrab:

"The bill won support from all but four of the 128 House members who voted, including Rep. Ilhan Omar, the country’s first Somali-Muslim legislator."

Is Omar grouped with the 123 other House members who voted "yes" or does that ambiguous comma group Omar with the four? Those coming to the article from Facebook might not look twice after seeing Geller's Facebook headline about Muslim legislators.

Update: A reader reminds us that Representive Omar also voted for the bill in Civil Law committee. [end update]

The Star Tribune copy within the article also broke from the standard journalistic convention of identifying lawmakers' party affiliation (see recent example here in the Strib). Geller opens:

This is evil. There are two sides to every issue: one side is right and the other is wrong, but the middle is always evil.

Now, the author of the Senate version is voicing second thoughts about approving the legislation yet this session, though Senate GOP leadership have not committed to a course of action. “We all agree this practice is absolutely horrible, and something needs to be done,” said the author, Sen. Karin Housley. “How can we empower communities to address this practice from within rather than having Big Brother come down and say, ‘This is wrong?’ ”

Is this the new approach to law and order? Why have laws against murder or rape? Why not say, “How can we empower communities to address this practice from within rather than having Big Brother come down and say, ‘This is wrong?’”

Unsuspecting readers might be forgiven for thinking Housley is a Democrat, given both of Geller's headlines, but the author of the senate version of the bill is indeed a Republican from St. Mary's Point near Stillwater. The Star Tribune's copy editors didn't catch that omission.

One might think Geller could create yet a third headline to reflect that fact that state Senate Republican inaction, not "Democrats and MUSLIM legislators," is responsible for the upper chamber's lack of follow through.

It's not surprising why the anti-Muslim network in Minnesota is confused about this topic if they're swallowing the nonsensical spin in Geller's headlines.

Photo: Karin Housley, the Republican state senator with cold feet about an anti-FGM bill she authored. Its companion bill passed in the Minnesota House. Bonus: here's Willmar anti-Muslim activist Bob Enos' sharing of the Geller piece; note the screaming caps in the Geller Facebook post. Just as on Geller's own Facebook page, the factually incorrect headline persists, days later.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the paypal subscription button.

May 17, 2017

The agriculture finance bill, one of the bills Dayton rejected, would have left the Good Food Access Fund with no money for the next biennium. . . .

The fund is part of an effort to deliver local produce to areas that otherwise wouldn’t have access — a major issue in rural areas such as southwest Minnesota, where most small towns don’t have a supermarket.

Studies show a lack of access to healthy, affordable food options in small, rural towns means more health problems for those residents, including a greater risk for obesity and obesity-related diseases.

Steve Kinsella of the Minnesota for Healthy Kids Coalition said the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) saw significantly more applicants for the grant program than expected.

The MDA received more than 50 applications totaling more than $1.5 million out of the $150,000 available for Equipment and Physical Improvement Grants. Many of the applicants were small-town grocery stores looking for help in updating their refrigeration systems, an expensive operation that typically isn’t economically feasible.

The fund was set to receive $500,000 for the next biennium, but the money was cut out during conference committee.

“Minnesota has this significant food desert problem,” Kinsella said. “The legislature acted last year to take steps to help address the problem, tremendous interest developed for the program and its potential to help improve access to healthy and affordable foods, and then the legislature killed the funding for it.” . . .

If there's one way to show love for rural Minnesota, it's re-affirming our food deserts.

Photo: An ex-grocery store.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the paypal subscription button.

Talks between the two sides had stalled for several days after Republicans moved to pass a series of budget bills Dayton had pledged to veto. The governor followed through on that promise, vetoing the last of the bills Monday evening.

Dayton and Republicans are divided on the makeup of the approximately $46 billion spending plan. Dayton, a DFLer, wants to expand spending on priority areas like early education and health and human services. Republicans aim to use much of the state’s $1.65 billion surplus on tax cuts and credits for targeted groups, including farmers and businesses. Dayton has also called on Republicans to remove controversial policy proposals from their budget plans. . .

This final sentence makes us fret:

The legislative session ends at midnight on May 22. Lawmakers must pass a budget by July 1 to avoid a government shutdown.

Hundreds of bars, restaurants and stores across Minnesota are running out of beer and alcohol and others may soon run out of cigarettes -- a subtle and largely unforeseen consequence of a state government shutdown.

In the days leading up to the shutdown, thousands of outlets scrambled to renew their state-issued liquor purchasing cards. Many of them did not make it.

Now, with no end in sight to the shutdown, they face a summer of fast-dwindling alcohol supplies and a bottom line that looks increasingly bleak.

That story was followed by MillerCoors kicked off state shelves. Soon after, the Dayton administration and the Republican legislature figured it out, and beer flowed once again throughout a thirsty state.

Bluestem contacted the media office of the Department of Public Safety in order to find out whether circumstances have changed since 2011, but have not yet heard back. It's possible the legislature moved to prevent such dire circumstances and we just missed that one.

If not, Bluestem urges all distributors, saloon keepers, bar and grill owners, and liquor store managers to make sure your alcohol purchasing license or distribution permit is up-to-date. After all, it could be a crime if one of the few things the Minnesota legislature managed to accomplish--Sunday sales back in early March--came undone because these clowns can't manage the budget process as well as they can pose and play the 2018 political game.

Let us not be as dry as ever this summer. File your paperwork while there's still time.

Bonus: Some leftist scamps created this charming video during the last shutdown:

Image: From the cover of sheet music to be original Prohibition Era "No Beer, No Work" ditty.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the paypal subscription button.

It is with great sadness that I see Rod Hamilton (along with all Minnesota House Republicans) sign his name to the House version of the legacy bill. You claim to be a supporter of conservation and sportsmen. Your signature on this bill proves undisputably the opposite. The four different poison pills contained in this bill, all designed to end public land acquisitions, are so anti-hunting and anti-conservation that it literally screams the controlling party's complete and total disdain for a very large part of their constituency — that being the hunting and fishing community.

There has never been a time in my adult life where there is so much arrogance by one political party that seems intent on destroying everything the conservation community has worked so hard for over the past five decades. My efforts for the past 31 years on behalf of Pheasants Forever have resulted in access to public hunting lands for all people, regardless of their economic status. With the Republican support for a no-net gain policy, we could see this effort shut down completely in Minnesota. What, sir, is next? Will you and your party start the systematic sale of these lands until no more of them exist in our state? I don’t think even you can say that this would never happen with the current direction we are headed.

We have a large budget surplus, and still you are cutting the budget of the DNR and not allowing the conservation community to pay more to manage and protect our natural resources through a license fee increase. In addition, the diversion of millions of dollars from the Clean Water Fund to pay Soil and Water Conservation Districts’ operations budgets, which have historically been paid for from the general fund, shows that it’s obvious that the rule of law and the Minnesota constitutional amendment — which prohibits supplanting — means nothing to the Minnesota House Republican representatives.

If you are a sportsman, there is nothing left to do but despair. Hopefully the governor will veto your entire effort and give you time to come back to your senses next year.

Tough words from a rural guy.

Photo: Mr. Rooster has to walk through more than a snow job created by the Minnesota House Majority Caucus.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the paypal subscription button.

John Linc Stine, commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency, highlighted a policy concern with the House bill, which would prohibit spending money from the Clean Air Act settlement with Volkswagen without legislative approval. He said the provision puts Minnesota’s $47 million share of the national settlement at risk.

As Minnesota lawmakers seek more oversight over how $47 million in Volkswagen settlement funds are spent, advocates warn bills in the legislature could cause the state to lose the money altogether.

Attorney Leili Fatehi, owner and principal of the nonprofit Apparatus, says the consent decree requires that states follow a certain process in distributing money from the settlement and several proposed bills could negate the settlement.

“It’s pretty reckless legislation,” said Fatehi, who would like to see some of the money spent on environmental justice initiatives to help clean up disadvantaged neighborhoods.

The debate over who gets to hold the purse strings of the settlement money pits the governor’s office and executive branch against legislators who firmly believe they should – and will – have a say in which projects receive money.

Fatehi said the tussle is being watched closely by the Great Plains Institute, Fresh Energy (which publishes Midwest Energy News) and other organizations in the energy field.

“The big concern is making sure that there aren’t bills that prevent Minnesota getting funding,” said Brendan Jordan, who helps lead the Great Plain Institute’s Drive Electric Minnesota initiative.

“The settlement is very specific how the money can be spent and what it can be spent on in a very specific time frame. There are things the Legislature could do on appropriating the money that could result in the state not getting anything.”

Oops. Read the rest at Midwest Energy News. It does sound like the eagerness of Minnesota House Republicans to get their mitts on this "pot o' money" could leave Minnesotans with all of the emissions and none of the cash from the private settlement.

Key to the 225-page consent decree is that a government agency with full legal authority must be appointed to receive payments that will then be directed to projects, Fatehi said.

The money is being managed by the Wilmington Trust and it will approve every project submitted by every state. The process of certifying states to receive settlement funds is expected to begin in May.

In Minnesota, Gov. Mark Dayton selected the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, which already has had three public meetings focused on the settlement money and plans for four or five more around the state.

Lawmakers, however, wants a say in what the MPCA uses the consent decree money for. They want to have the power to appropriate the money that will go for projects, rather than the MPCA. . . .

That might cost us.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the paypal subscription button.

. . . An existing lead shot ban in waterfowl hunting was legislated by state lawmakers in 1987 but the DNR wanted to expand that ban unilaterally, he said. And if the lead shot ban were to come before the Legislature, it would be voted down, he said.

"I don't think there's any support for it," he said. "I don't think even a lot of (DFL legislators) would be interested in that, if it came down to a vote."

"Lead is a naturally occurring mineral, it's in the soil, it's mined just like anything else," he added later.

The DNR's proposed non-toxic shot rule would expand the ban to all small-game hunting, but it would count only for shotgun shells with shot in them, not single-projectile loads—so rifle bullets and shotgun slugs could still be made of lead. It would also be limited to Minnesota wildlife management lands from Highway 210 in Brainerd to the southern border.

Note how Heintzeman frames the issue as a complete ban on lead shot, but the proposed restrictions are limited to Minnesota wildlife management lands in part of the state. Heintzeman fears the talking point, but not the well-known problems of lead poisoning. Kayser continues:

Animals like eagles and loons can be poisoned if they ingest lead shot, the DNR said.

[Senator Carrie] Ruud[, R-Breezy Point] also had strong words for her Senate colleagues regarding a provision that would bar the Department of Natural Resources from issuing new rules restricting lead shot. Ruud chairs the Senate's environmental policy committee, and the lead shot bill never was run through her committee to receive scrutiny and discussion in a hearing. She said the "trickery" of fellow senators resulted in an end run around her committee.

"I think that's very dishonest," she said.

Another part of the bill appropriates $20,000 for a study on the effects of lead shot on wildlife that live in state lands. While Ruud supported the study—she said the existing data on lead shot is outdated—she opposed the Legislature banning the DNR from banning lead shot before the study was implemented.

Here are the members of the conference committee for HF888/SF0723. Click through on the hot links and let the members know your thoughts about lead policy. Be civil--no cussing or spitting on the floor:

If you need motivation to contact them, here's a short Youtube of an eagle afflicted with lead poisoning, via the Raptor Center's page on Lead Poisoning which notes "For the past 40 years lead exposure and lead poisoning have been major health issues for bald eagles received by or admitted to our clinic::

Let's hope that the guys will listen to the woman on the committee, and follow her lead on this issue. Quote the Brainerd Dispatch article--which frames the differences nicely--and mention the bills by name.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the paypal subscription button.

Sometimes it’s money straight from state coffers. Other times it’s a tweak to a narrowly focused regulation. With Republicans in charge of the Minnesota Legislature, their allies are seeing priorities elevated at the Capitol.

Republicans are trying to use their state House and Senate majorities to re-engineer Minnesota government in a cheaper, leaner, more business-friendly direction. But they are also pushing for a host of policy changes — tax cuts and credits, subsidies and regulatory relief — that would benefit traditionally GOP-aligned sectors like insurance, energy, agribusiness, homebuilding and other industries.

In some cases, the help extends to a single company. Like a manufacturer in northwestern Minnesota, or a shrimp farm in the southwest. . . .

The environment, health care, and a dam in danger. All were connected Wednesday night as a handful of DFL representatives talked about where they differed on the legislative agenda with Republicans.

Reps. David Bly, DFL-Northfield, and Rick Hansen, DFL-South St. Paul, led a discussion with about 20 people who came to talk about the dam but turned to a wide range of issues.

Hansen began by discussing the environmental bill, focusing more on what is not in the bill than what is. For starters, he said, there is a lot less money in the bill for 2018. "The goal for this bill was to cut $94 million from existing spending," he said.

That means less service for both businesses and the public who are looking for answers, he said. "If you're going to call in to seek a permit, you want clear information that you can follow if you're on the business side," Hansen said. "If you're on the public side, you want clear information you can follow. That takes people."

Cutting $94 million from the environmental budget will affect staffing at places like the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, he said, meaning a slow down for businesses looking to get environmental permits. "The environmental review strengthens the end product, and that takes people," he said. "When you're cutting the budgets, you're actually going to be delaying the permits." . . .

Read the rest at the Post Bulletin, and ask yourself whether Representative Greg Davids, R-Preston understands the old political maxim, "If you're explaining, you ain't gaining."

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the paypal subscription button.

Apr 04, 2017

It is a melancholy object to those who drive on the Evil Metro's interstate system or travel on public transit, when they see the streets, the roads, and bus and light-rail doors, crowded with African-American protesters and their allies objecting to the deaths of their fellow citizens at the hands of law enforcement, followed by three, four, or six members of Unicorn Riot, all in video gear and importuning every passenger for an interview.

We think it is agreed by all parties that this prodigious number of road, transit and mall shutdowns is in the present deplorable state of the State of Minnesota a very great additional grievance; and, therefore, whoever could find out a fair, cheap, and easy method of making protesters sound, useful and visible members of the Gopher State, would deserve so well of the public as to have her statue set up for a preserver of the North.

As a resident bucolic Greater Minnesota, we have often observed farmers mowing and haying publicly-owned right-of-ways along trunk highways in broad daylight, despite laws that prohibit mowing before late summer. And just last week, Chris Swedzinski’s ditch-mowing legislation passed in the Minnesota House, forbidding any rules to govern the gathering and selling of fodder taken off these roadside public(if narrow) lands.

A showdown over roadside mowing in rural Minnesota has unleashed a surprisingly passionate debate at the Legislature about the culture of farming, property rights and the desperate plight of bees and monarch butterflies.

It’s put wildlife in a fierce — but so far losing — competition with Minnesota farmers for the right to the increasingly valuable grass, flowers and other vegetation that grow along 175,000 acres of state-owned roads across the state.

A bill headed for a vote on the House floor would prevent the Minnesota Department of Transportation from asking landowners to get a permit before they mow roadside ditches and grassy shoulders . . .

In fact, a law on Minnesota’s books since 1985 prohibits roadside mowing before Aug. 1 and after Aug. 31 — a long-ago effort to protect nesting pheasants.

But it’s been widely ignored, transportation officials said; only about 40 permits a year have been issued for 12,000 miles of state-owned roadway. Officials said the agency has no power or penalties to enforce it.

In rural Minnesota, landowners adjacent to the roads largely believe they own the land to the centerline and the government has rights to use it, he said. While that’s largely true for county and township roads, it’s not so for the state.

That conflict--and the law-breaking behavior of the farmers--has earned both a lot of sympathy from Minnesota lawmakers and attention from the press.

Should Governor Dayton sign the omnibus public safety bill, Bluestem thinks that there's one easy way for BLM protestors to avoid arrest while gathering attention (and perhaps a little revenue). Don't break a Minnesota law by blocking traffic. Instead, pick up a few vintage tractors, mowers, and haying implements and head out to rural Minnesota's state highways before or after August. Make hay while the sun shines--and sell your hay bales to buy more farm equipment and a place at the table of policy making.

Since such law-breaking is deemed acceptable by the state legislature, the act of civil disobedience (and selling state property) won't be followed by the sort of draconian punishment Zerwas demands for blocking highways and transit without the chance of turning a dollar. It's an all-Minnesota win.

Bluestem professes, in the sincerity of our heart, that we have not the least personal interest in endeavoring to promote this necessary work, having no other motive than the public good of our state, by advancing agriculture trade, providing for justice, relieving the equity gap, and giving some pleasure to the legislators eating, talking, sleeping, playing cards and lounging around looking pale in the Minnesota House retiring room while the body is in session.

Bluestem has no property beside a state highway from which we can propose to get a single bail, nor do we keep even a pygmy goat for which we need fodder. Indeed, we find fodder enough for our purposes simply by paying attention to the Minnesota House.

Photo: In July 2016, the shooting death of Philando Castile by police prompted community members to block part of I94 in St. Paul. Should increased penalties for this behavior become law, Bluestem recommends that future civil disobedience consist of mow-ins along state highways. Image by Glen Stubbe/Star Tribune.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the paypal subscription button.

In recent years, there has been plenty of talk about a potential high-speed rail line from Rochester to the Twin Cities. But so far, those efforts have failed to advance. . . .

Reiter said that when it comes to rail, there have been inaccurate statements made in the past about the number of Twin Cities commuters.

"There've been comments in the past going back a number of years that we have a couple of thousand people coming from the Twin Cities that work here. There's just no evidence that's really true," Reiter said.

Instead, he said the numbers are more like 400 to 600. He said those ridership numbers would make a rail line from Rochester to the Twin Cities a challenge — unless there was a connection to Chicago as well.

Could that teeny-tiny data point be the blow to the brain that buries a land-grabbing, short-line high-speed rail project? We hesitate to say yes.

Dear Answer Man, will you answer this once and for all: Is Zip Rail dead or is it not dead?

It's dead.

But what if Zip Rail just looks dead and is a zombie, just waiting for the right moment to get back on track?

At some point down the road, some brave souls may try another plan for a high-speed passenger train between Rochester and the Twin Cities. But I guarantee you that if they do, it won't be called Zip Rail. That name has been rendered unusable by opponents of the project. Its only value now is as a political bogeyman. . . .

That's not enough for Zip Rail opponents such as Rep. Steve Drazkowski, who wants to insert language into a bill to drive yet another stake through the project, removing any reference to Zip Rail in the state rail plain. Drazkowski previously has tried to link Zip Rail to limiting Rochester and Olmsted County's options with Destination Medical Center.

Zip Rail opponents in Dodge County also drove another stake through it last month at a meeting of the Dodge County Rail Authority, reaffirming a three-year-old resolution against the long-defunct project.

To repeat: There's no one in a position of authority regarding trains, planes or automobiles who believes Zip Rail is undead. It's dead. . . .

But I asked Senjem's Rochester Republican colleague, Sen. Carla Nelson, and she says Zip Rail is more in the zombie category. "Nothing is dead until the gavel drops and we adjourn sine die, which is the first first Monday after the third Saturday in an even year -- May 21, 2018.

"Of course, there is always the next legislative session, at which time anything can happen."

Having watched the Minnesota Legislature for years, we're inclined to agree with Nelson. And short of a real zombie outbreak, the legislature will continue to meet, year in, year out.

Photo: Zombie Ziprail isn't exactly like this. It just seems like it (above); Anti-Zombie Ziprail signs near Rochester, Minnesota.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the paypal subscription button.

Mar 28, 2017

On Tuesday, Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen, a Republican from Glencoe, introduced a bill to ban transgender people from using the restroom at their place of employment as well in public places. HF2553 would also codify into law a male-female gender binary.

The bill updates the legal definition of “sex” to be “A person’s sex is either male or female as biologically defined.” The bill does not say what “biologically defined” is comprised of.

The bill also would impose a law on employers that would prohibit them from enacting gender inclusive workplaces and force them to label all multiple occupancy facilities as either male or female:

The provisions of section 363A.11 relating to sexual orientation as defined in section 363A.03, subdivision 44, shall not apply to the employment of any individual with regard to facilities such as restrooms, locker rooms, dressing rooms, or other similar places. No claim of nontraditional identity or sexual orientation may override another person’s right of privacy based on biological sex in such facilities as restrooms, locker rooms, dressing rooms, and other similar places, which shall remain reserved for males or females as they are biologically defined.

The bill does the same for public restrooms and other facilities:

The provisions of section 363A.11 relating to sex, or sexual orientation as defined in section 363A.03, subdivision 44, shall not apply to such public facilities as restrooms, locker rooms, dressing rooms, and other similar places. No claim of nontraditional identity or sexual orientation may override another person’s right of privacy based on biological sex in public facilities such as restrooms, locker rooms, dressing rooms, and other similar places, which shall remain reserved for males or females as biologically defined.

Finally, the bill doubles down on the prohibition on employers adopting gender inclusive workplace:

“Other than single-occupancy facilities, no employer shall permit access to restrooms, locker rooms, dressing rooms, and other similar places on any basis other than biological sex.”

The bill is similar to one offered by Gruenhagen and 43 other Republicans in 2016. That bill did not advance in the GOP-controlled House. The current bill has been filed after the committee deadlines and faces an uphill battle despite a Christian conservative majority in the Minnesota House.

Rep. Gruenhagen has been one of the Minnesota Legislature’s most anti-LGBTQ members both politically and personally.

Gruenhagen made the claim that homosexuality is an “unhealthy sexual addiction” in 2013. The Minnesota Legislature was poised to pass marriage equality and Gruenhagen organized a press conference with “former homosexuals” to prove that sexual orientation can be changed through prayer and counseling.

Gruenhagen has been an outspoken opponent of equity for LGBTQ Minnesotans. He recently authored a bill that would ban transgender employees from using the restroom that is appropriate for their gender. In 2011, he co-founded the Pro-Family Forum, formerly the Pro-Marriage Amendment Forum, along with “former homosexual” Kevin Peterson (In 2013, Gruenhagen announced his “former homosexual” friend on the floor of the Minnesota House as that body was taking up marriage equality).

The Column is a community-supported non-profit news, arts, and media organization. We depend on community support to continue the work of solid LGBT-centric journalism. If you like this guest article, consider visiting Give MN to make a contribution today.

Mar 27, 2017

The debate over when voters get to cull election fields has been around Minnesota’s Capitol for years, but June primary advocates hope it has finally shifted in their favor. Their push has the backing of Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton, incoming Republican House Speaker Kurt Daudt and key state party officials. Opponents are fine-tuning arguments that a June election brings more pitfalls than benefits. . . .

State Democratic Party Chairman Ken Martin expects to join forces with GOP counterpart Keith Downey, who has advocated for a June primary in the past. Daudt, now the top House member, has previously been chief sponsor of the legislation.

The proposal’s fate rests with buy-in from rank-and-file legislators, many of whom take personal considerations into account. For one, the Legislature typically meets until late May, tying lawmakers down in St. Paul when potential primary challengers are freed up to campaign back in the district. There’s also the prospect of special sessions creating a backdrop where legislators on overtime face the real-time wrath of an annoyed electorate.

Hope springs eternal, and bills (HF729/SF514) are working their way through the Minnesota House and Senate to make it so.

As we read the House bill, Minnesota's 2018 primary would be the first to be affected by the legislation (often bills that change the election calendar don't take effect until the next campaign cycle but not so here) and the 2018 primary would be held on Tuesday,June 19, 2018.

Curious about how that might affect the campaign calendar, we reached out to Secretary of State Steve Simon's communication office for a schedule. Communications director Ryan Furlong sent us this chart comparing the calendar according to current statute with the one for a June primary should the law be passed:

Schedule of Events in 2018

If the Primary is moved to the 1stTuesday after the 3rdMonday in June

Current 2018 Proposed 2018

Party Caucuses date Feb 6 or party determined date Feb 6 or party determined date

According to staff at the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library (MLRL), the date to reconvene on even years is set late in the odd-year session. Following this tradition, no date has been set for the legislature to get it together in 2018.

Other March starts? March 6, 1984 and March 1, 2006. While there were a few late February convenings, the sessions mostly started between mid-January and mid-February since the 1972 amendment was passed.

Those lawmakers wishing to retain partisan endorsements will have to influence party activists by the caucus on February 6, 2018, since that's when the delegate selection and endorsement process begins. That partisan endorsement calendar will have to be truncated in order for the state parties to endorse a candidate before the filing deadline of April 10.

Dave Hughes, the 2016 Republican candidate who came relatively close to knocking the old Blue Dog off the house, is also running again. Hughes won the 2016 endorsement on April 30, 2016. Seventh District Republicans would have to hold their endorsing convention before the April 10, 2018, filing date for Miller to file for his state house seat again should the delegates give Hughes a second chance; candidates cannot file for two offices.

There's talk that the DFL might exhume and fluff up former state senator Lyle Koenen for the 17A seat; if it's an open seat, there's a chance that the salting of the earth against Koenen by the Freedom Club PAC might not deter voters from selecting the genial Clara City politician. Lots of House seniority there from the years when he served in the House prior to the late Gary Kubly's death.

It's not just Miller who will have to make the choice between a secure seat in the Minnesota House or constitutional office (and for some DFL constitutional officers, that position and the governor's office). On the Republican side, we're told in the media that Speaker Kurt Daudt, R-Crown, representative Sarah Anderson, R-Plymouth, and representative Matt Dean, R-Dellwood, are potential contenders for the opening left by Mark Dayton's retirement.

On the DFL side of the aisle: start with the ambitions of Paul Thissen, DFL-Minneapolis, who lost the endorsement at the state convention in 2010 to former Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, DFL-Minneapolis. The legislature had adjourned, but the August primary allowed Thissen to file for his House seat and stay in the game. Former Range representative Tommy Rukavina and Roseville's senator John Marty did the same.

Unless the DFL and Republican state conventions occur before the April 10 deadline, one can foresee crowded primary ballots on June 19--potentially with the likes of Daudt, Anderson and Dean gone from the House Republican caucus in 2019, while Thissen, Rochester's Tina Leibling and St. Paul's Erin Murphy gone from the DFL caucus. For state auditor Rebecca Otto, a declared candidate, and attorney general Lori Swanson, long a rumored candidate, there'd be no turning back from whatever office they filed by April 10. Congressman Tim Walz, who declared himself as a gubernatorial candidate Monday, would also have no way of doubling back in the First.

Should the parties hold all endorsing conventions for state house districts, congressional districts and state constitutional offices by April 10, Bluestem thinks that furious calendar will leave a lot of exhausted activists. Since no one knows when the 2018 session begins, we hesitate to speculate about the stamina of the lawmakers themselves.

The Minnesota DFL is proud to announce the location for the 2018 State DFL Convention. From June 8-10, 2018, Minnesota DFLers will gather in Rochester, MN at the newly remodeled Mayo Civic Center to endorse candidates and conduct official party business.

“The Minnesota DFL has a rich history of investing in our state’s future, defending the civil and human rights of all citizens, and constantly working to move our state forward without leaving anyone behind. When the DFL convenes in Rochester in June of 2018, we will be making critical endorsements that will directly affect the lives of Minnesota’s families.

From June 8-10, 2018 DFL delegates will vote to endorse candidates for Secretary of State, State Auditor, Attorney General, the next Governor and Lt. Governor of Minnesota, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar.

“We are excited to bring our delegates together at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester to endorse candidates for statewide office. With the results of the 2016 election playing out in the state legislature, Minnesotans are seeing what happens when Republicans are in control. The outcome of the 2018 election is crucial to our state’s future and the DFLers who will gather in Rochester understand the responsibility to endorse great candidates that will continue to build a better Minnesota for all.”

Regardless of the month of the primary, it's probably wise of the DFL to take a mulligan on this one, since even without passage of HF729/SF514, Minnesota House Democrats considering running for constitutional offices would have to chose their office by the current June 5 filing date--just before heading to Rochester. DFL communications director Rachel Boyer confirmed that the party was re-scheduling the date of the convention.

Poor planning or an evil Martinian plot to favor one contender over another? We're not close enough to speculate on just what that was about.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the paypal subscription button.

In February, Dayton indicated he could veto bills perceived as weakening the authority of the state Public Utilities Commission — a group appointed by the governor that regulates the state's electricity, gas and telephone companies. . . .

A common complaint handled by the PUC concerns additional fees some co-op customers are charged after installing solar panels or wind generators.

These customers say the grid connection fees — ranging from $7 to $83 — were a disincentive to install sources of renewable energy. The co-ops say the fees are needed to cover their fixed costs.

The legislation would have sent these disputes to a third-party mediator, not the PUC. But "it does not provide any guidance on how this mediation would work," Dayton said in his letter.

"All Minnesota customers — from family farmers to large businesses — should be able to invest in technology to produce clean and efficient energy with the assurance that the PUC is available to provide consumer protection," the governor said.

Check out the entire article at the Strib.

Cartoon: Ken Avidor for Bluestem Prairie. Some rural co-op customers (they're called "members," but if a person in the co-op's service area wants to get on the electrical grid, there's no alternative suppler) told Bluestem that they felt their rural electrical co-ops were committed to long-term contracts for coal-produced energy, not solar energy produced by members.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the paypal subscription button.

I am normally a pretty accepting person. However, when people who are supposedly in decision-making positions make statements that are perplexing, to say the least, with no factual backing, I feel I need an explanation. Such a statement was made at a town hall meeting awhile back by Rep. Steve Green concerning the "magic healing powers" of water. Not only was his statement that "water will heal itself" perplexing, it was downright comical. What science are you using, Steve? Or are you a member of the state and federal tribe that denies science? If we are to believe you, when toxic chemicals, farm waste, including fertilizers, or fossil-fuel by-products (oil or coal sludge) get into our aquifers, lakes, streams and wetlands, these polluted places will automatically and magically be healed. Or should we believe tremendous volumes of scientific research that say it will take decades, if not centuries, for these areas to be healed? Which is it?

Included in your statements that day, you also made mention of the buffer zones along water courses. You want these eliminated because you seem to believe that this is a property rights issue. You obviously believe that the public's right to clean water is superseded by your rights to do whatever right up to the water's edge or in areas of porous soil types. On this you are dead wrong

Your effort to dismantle the environmental controls of both MPCA and DNR is some of the most misguided and dangerous abuses of elected authority in recent memory. No amount of explanation will eliminate the fact that you truly and sincerely believe that you are right. So, which is it, Steve? Do you deny or believe proven science?

We'll continue to keep an eye out for Representative Green's sassy constituents, who certainly are getting lippy up there.

Photo: Rep. Steve Green, R-Fosston.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the paypal subscription button.

Mar 17, 2017

Minnesotans who follow the state legislature know if there's anything related to the environment that incites the House Republicans, it's climate change, solar energy, environmental education and land acquisition, even if Minnesotans want spending for those items.

Thus, it wasn't a surprise to watch the Minnesota House Environment and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee strip over 20 projects recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources from HF1625, the lottery trust fund bill on Thursday morning.

The amount of money meant to benefit Minnesota’s environment and natural resources remained largely the same, but how that money would be spent was the subject of sharp disagreement among members of the House Environment and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee Thursday.

Sponsored by Rep. Josh Heintzeman (R-Nisswa), HF1265 would appropriate more than $59 million based on recommendations made by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources for expenditures from the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund. The fund was established through a constitutional amendment in 1988 to direct proceeds from the state lottery and investment income to benefit those resources.

During the hearing, Minneapolis DFLer Jean Wagenius reminded the committee members that Governor Dayton hoped to fund CREP through bonding, while the deleted projects, which had withstood a long vetting process by staff and members of the LCCMR, were not eligible for bonding. Mohr continues:

“There are some differences of opinion on some of these particular items,” Heintzeman said. “In order to try and move this bill forward we had to make some adjustments.” . . .

But DFL committee members objected to cuts made to projects focused on climate change, solar power, environmental education and land acquisitions. And they said that although they support funding for the conservation reserve program, other sources for those dollars were under consideration and could be used.

Rep. Frank Hornstein (DFL-Mpls) said some of deletions were “unconscionable” and that he was very disappointed.

“We cannot continue to deny the reality of climate change, and we’ve done that again in this bill,” he said.

Rep. Rick Hansen (DFL-South St, Paul) said he understood the need to fashion a bill that would find enough votes to pass, but he also wants legislation that would benefit Minnesotans.

A number of testifiers also spoke against the amended bill, including LCCMR co-chair Jeff Broberg, who said the committee had done many hours of work to arrive at its recommendations and that cutting 25 projects undermined the process.

“We went through a very deliberative process to come up with a series of recommendations that we think best serves the state of Minnesota,” Broberg said.

I would encourage you to watch the video. We did not start on time as the Republicans did not have enough votes to pass their amendment stripping out the projects referenced.

The amendment ended up passing by a 11-10 split, with Steve Green, R-Fosston, joining the DFLers on the committee in opposing the changes.

Here's the Youtube; Bluestem will be updating this post with excerpts from the entire mess. As is the case for all Mn House Information Services video archives, what home viewers saw before the committee was called to order is stripped from the footage (usually, the delays are much less deliberate). However, Bluestem did get a screengrab of Chair Fabian and Minority Lead Hansen returning to their seats after one of several huddles before the show began It's at the top of this post.

Screengrab: Pre-gavel drama at the Minnesota state capitol. Chair Fabian is the man walking on the far side of the committee table, while Minority lead Hansen is in the lower left hand corner of the photo.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the paypal subscription button.

Unfortunately, the companion bills have passed in both chambers and so clean energy groups, including our friends at Clean Up The River Environment (CURE) are asking citizens to contact Governor Dayton and ask for a veto. Here's the message we received from them:

Power companies are forcing Minnesota's solar customers to pay discriminatory fees – some over $80/month. This bill eliminates a review of these astronomical penalties, just so power companies don't have to face scrutiny for punishing solar customers.

Solar customers shouldn't be punished for doing the right thing. Tell Governor Dayton to protect solar in Minnesota and veto this legislation.

More than 52,000 people died of drug overdoses in 2015, and roughly two-thirds of them had used prescription opioids like OxyContin or Vicodin or illegal drugs like heroin, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those overdoses have jumped 33 percent in the past five years alone, with some states reporting the death toll had doubled or more.

“It drives what I do,” said Minnesota state Sen. Chris Eaton, a Democrat from Brooklyn Center whose daughter, Ariel, died almost 10 years ago. “It’s a crisis. We’re losing a generation.”

In trying to increase regulation of opioids, lawmakers are up against powerful adversaries. A joint investigation by the Associated Press and the Center for Public Integrity last fall found that pharmaceutical companies and allied groups spent more than $880 million nationwide on lobbying and campaign contributions from 2006 through 2015.

The industry group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and Purdue Pharma, one of the nation’s largest opioid manufacturers, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday on pending legislation in Minnesota and elsewhere.

Based on a lobbyist registration on March 10, the interests of the latter stakeholder will no longer be defenseless against grieving parents serving in the Minnesota state legislature or citizens outraged by the surge in drug overdoses statewide. Linda Barefoot has registered to lobby in Minnesota on behalf of Purdue Pharma LP with the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the paypal subscription button.